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" May the Cube be with You"
(two George Clin ton collaborations) and the new
single "Airh ead", which
featured Creamer's nasty rap
rebuttal to all those who find
the song sexist. Dolby and
the singer/percussionist also
indulged in some mock-rock
star interplay and the leader
left his ivory tower image
behind long enough for
backflips and jokes during a
90-minute set that left the
house wanting more.
England's Escape Club (of
"Wild Wild West" semifame), originally part of the
bill, used their escape cla,use
to back out of the show and
left an all-woman cover
quartet called Mistress as the
opener. As uncomfortable as
the restless 86 Street crowd,
the band begged the question: Isn't it time for a
oratoriu m on disco-ized
Motown h its? □ Ken Elsner

Marilyn Crispell
Review: Vancouver East
Cultural Centre

Keyboard acrobat plays
with strength and lyricism
ianist Marilyn Crispe ll lived
p to her advance billing by
elivering an action-packed
our's worth of keyboard
crobatics, as her solo conribution to the last night of
he Coastal Jazz and Blues
ociety and the New Orhestra Workshop's Time
lies series.
Her power was amply evient, especially on her openng number, an improvi~aion that began with a series

o el - !Re tones (l!Re something from the minimalist
canon s of Steve Reich or
John Adams) before branching out into an elaborate
textural fantasy. She was
also strong on a tune
dedicated to a percussionist
friend from Sierra Leone,
which combined the lithe
grace of African rhythms
with the serpentine elegance
of jazz inventions.
Crispell displayed the
lyrical side of her abilities on
tunes by Thelonious Monk
and John Coltrane: Monk's
"Ruby, My Dear" was given
an ornate but not overly
florid
reading,
while
'Trane's "After the Rain" got
a straightforward but
beautiful interpretation that
gradually dissolved into
sounds that suggested low
brass choirs and celestial
voices. Coltrane would have
approved.
Crispell re-appeared for
the second half of the second
set, sittin g in with t h e
recently form ed N.O.W. Orch estra, but was large ly
drowned out in the organized clatter of this large
group's public debut.
It's hard to make a big
band-even one that's been
together for years-really
soar, and while composers
Bill Runge, Pat Caird, and
Coat Cooke often evoked the
spirit of the late Gil Evans'
rich and evocative orchestrations, the N.O.W. Orchestra
ne ver quite achieved the effortless bouyaney of Evans'
own bands . But for a
pre miere it wasn't bad ;
many of the Orc hestra's
soloists are quite outstanding, and a few more months
of rehearsal should take care
of the occasional hesitations
that kept the music from flying. □ Alex Varty

ay ex encl at season fils
Sunday (November 13) at the
Vancouver East Cultural
Centre. These two are both
feminists from back east, but
stylistically they're as different as salsa picante and
lemon meringue pie. Both
have a sweetness and a bite,
but in different proportions.
Faith Nolan, a black activist and organizer as well
as singer, songwriter, guitarist and pianist, was born in
Nova Scotia. Her bluesy
guitar style and gutsy vocals
draw from the province's
long-established black community. while some of her
subtler influences come from
her present home base of
Toronto. Though her songs
address many issues, two
recording projects, Africville
and Sistership, reflect the
two main directions in
Nolan's work. Africville is a
celebration of Nova Scotia's
black history, with wonderful songs of little-k nown early black heroes. "Sistership"
steers in to differe n t waters,
celebrating women 's community, culture , a nd love.
Th e e ffe ct is i mpre ssive-uplifting, exhilarating,
and e ye-opening-li ke a
good salsa.

own. fie sweat was us
a-flyin' off the bodies of
guitarist Mike Weiley and
bassist Cliff Grigg, the frontline attack force of Australian power trio V. Spy V.
Spy ("just call us Spies").
And you could see it soaking
through the baseball cap of
thundering drummer Cliff
Grigg after just one song.
With a speedy, no-nonsense barrage of to-the-max
rock'n'roll that would make
Midnight Oil proud, the
Spies won over a packed
house and made it known
that they're one Aussie band
to keep an eye on. The majority of the group's material
was culled from its latest
album, Xenophobia (Why?),
and there wasn't a ballad in
the bunch-just fierce
rockers like "Test of Time ...
"Mingle 'N' Mix". and
"Clarity of Mind".
As is the case with most
Australian bands, it was obvious that these guys had
honed their skills with
countless pu b gigs in their
native land. The idea that
Austra lia n bands are the
best live acts in the world
was certainly given more
credence by their gutsy performanc e. □ Steve Newton

Faith Nolan and
Lucie Blue
Tremblay
Preview: VECC ,
Sunday, November I 3
Salsa picante and lemon
meringue pie
Thi s i s d ecide dly the
· ' sin ge r/s ongw rite r with
gu itar" season , j udging by
the Van cou ver Folk Music
Festiv al offerings . Faith Spies sultarlst Michael Welley Is another Australian who
Nolan and Lucie Blue Trem- wants to make people stomp. Kevin Statham photo.